My wife is tired of the skinny 4x4 post supporting our deck railing. It runs verticle running from deck floor to ceiling of porch and has a railing attached for the deck and a railing attached for the stairs. She wants something more "beefy" and I think I can simply cover it with 6" lumber. My question is, since it is at the entrance to our house what type of lumber should I use? We live in Eastern WA (home of the ZAGS) and get hot summers and cold winters. My back deck is a combination of Cedar and Redwood.

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Whatever looks good with the exterior architecture and will wear for exterior applications?I would personally fir it out and make the past larger? Hard to make an opinion with seeing a photo. You're talking about aesthetics and personal taste.

The company I work for uses Boral almost 100% of the time for all exterior trim. I personally don't care for it.

It has less durability than wood for abrasions. It is almost impossible to handle a 16' piece without a second person. The dust is incredibly hard on tools. It cannot be mitered and joined to another for a sharp outside corner unless that corner is assembled in a vacuum away from any intereference from any person or object.

Having said the above, I would use it for applications that are 5' above grade or higher, but I would only cut it with tools I don't care about or cheap tools bought expressly for Boral use. If sliding saws or table saws are used, you can expect the slides to get gritty and table saw trunnions to seize no matter how much compressed air you blow on dust coated parts.

Even though I don't care for the product, there doesn't seem to be a cost effective alternative, so I will have to suck it up and continue working with it.

This thread reminds me that it's time to hit my boss up for another disposable miter saw and table saw!

For that home IPE 100%. You can hand pick a color to match what you have, I have some in the shop appears to be the color you show. And I have at least 10 shades off it though most is similar .

Some might say Cedar and I would use that if your home already uses cedar. Actually, if your home uses a natural wood already why not match it. Otherwise I am firm on ipe. I wish I could afford it for my entire renovation, decking, posts even exposed structure I just cant afford it. But for here and there anything outside I use it.

Of course you arent painting ipe, I was thinking you had a natural wood type home from the pic.

« Last Edit: June 17, 2017, 12:16 AM by Dovetail65 »

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The one who says it can't be done should avoid interrupting the person doing it.

Would redwood have any rot problems? I've heard that Cedar shouldn't but I have some cedar decking that did rot.

The problem that I have experienced with any natural wood is finding any dimensionally tolerant product (I.E. something with some age to it). The demand for natural wood is so high that trees are harvested younger and younger every year and consequently cannot grow strong enough. Having said that, you may have access to better quality because you are closer to the source.

IMO Redwood is better than cedar for both rot and insects, BUT there is not much that can be installed flat that will withstand the beating that elements give it. I live in MN and we probably have very similar climate challenges.

For your post wraps, I would say either match the material with the railings or intentionally contrast the material. The above reply referenced Ipe. I've used it on a number of occasions and the only problem with it is that it is hard on cutting edges and fasteners. Other than that, I love it. It seems relatively tolerant and ages beautifully.

The final comment I will make regards joinery. Regardless of how tolerant the material is, I would recommend lock miter for the corners, relieve the hidden side with a saw kerf every inch, and whenever possible turn the "smile" of the grain towards the post. It's a lot of work to go through this process, but it has produced lasting results in my experience.

I will second the vote for ipe. I've redone two 30 year old decks with it and the results are very nice. I built a total of 35 post wraps for 4x4s using a nominal 1x6 (3/4x5.5) for two sides and a nominal 5/4x4 (1x3.5) for the other two. Glued with Titebond III and screwed every 8" through the 1x6 into the 5/4x4 and plugged. The inside cavity is 3 5/8"x 3 1/2" so the posts needed light shaving with a power plane on two faces in till a slip fit was achieved. Just finished the 2nd deck but the first one is two years old with no issues.

Ipe works great as decking, I'm not a fan of it for trim. Checking and warping can be an issue. The bigger issue is the ipe doesn't hold a finish. You're fighting an uphill battle with any semi-transparent finish on wood outdoors. With ipe that hill is more like an insurmountable mountain. Expect to reapply a finish every year, or maybe every other year if you want to maintain the look.

I've replaced far too much exterior wood siding and trim to ever own a house like the OP. Brick and synthetic for me.

I'll add my Boral comments. We have a home on the SC coast and have Hardie Plank, Axek and Boral exteroir materials. For flat surfaces the Boral look better, and paint appears to hold very well. I've wrapped deck posts in redwood and while it didn't rot it was a pain to maintain primed to prevent sap leach and they used one steel nail that left a rust mark.

Ipe works great as decking, I'm not a fan of it for trim. Checking and warping can be an issue. The bigger issue is the ipe doesn't hold a finish. You're fighting an uphill battle with any semi-transparent finish on wood outdoors. With ipe that hill is more like an insurmountable mountain. Expect to reapply a finish every year, or maybe every other year if you want to maintain the look.

I've replaced far too much exterior wood siding and trim to ever own a house like the OP. Brick and synthetic for me.

Yes, Ipe does not hold a finish. All of the Ipe I've installed has come with the caveat that states " use Australian timber oil or nothing". Aus TO lasts for two maybe three years...maybe. I like the natural look, but on the flat it is not for bare feet or socks. If you go natural on the flat, shoes are a must. I would guess that AUS TO works better than anything on the vertical, but you are looking at a 3-5 year recoat effort.

Yeah who puts anything on ipe? Not taking anything is the trait that makes it last 75 years outside. If you want it to stay a certain color dont use ipe. If you want to solid stain color the wood no way can you use ipe. If you want it to weather naturally then it a great wood to use.

If the trim split of crack it may have not been the select top grade. In my experience if I take a piece of decking and use it as a piece of trim, its going to last longer, crack or cup less, not more than a horizontal piece. I have at least one ipe 3 season room in Chicago and the trim, exposed beams, deck, railing and posts, everything just looks as good as it did 20 years ago, only the color is different.

I have gone through this will my suppliers and a couple of times was certain the trim type ipe stock (1x4, 1x6" etc) I ordered was a knock off becasue it was not the same as the decking in the same shipment. Possibly it was just not the best of the best of the ipe, not sure.

I found another supplier and sure enough he was changing near 1.5 times more than I paid. I still have one piece of that ipe from the bad supplier and it does have checks in it, I have had no issues since I switched suppliers.

So shop carefully when buying expensive lumber(specifically exotics, you never know what you are getting), hand pick it if you can.

I hate boral, I hate synthetics, been through it and have used several types over the years and nothing is non maintenance forever. My mom's synthetic deck and railings look like crap, she is on her 3rd deck now in 25 years using 3 different type of non wood products. She wanted to get away from Cedar as she tried to stain hers at the old home and ruined it and it was never easy keeping it looking how she thought it should look. A huge mistake, just let it go grey mom is all I told her, she wouldn't listen. So on the new home she went non wood and still had issues of one type or another. Had she gone an exotic wood it would still be going strong. I guess I am just a wood guy if I have to maintain it I will.

« Last Edit: June 17, 2017, 08:11 PM by Dovetail65 »

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The one who says it can't be done should avoid interrupting the person doing it.

...Yes, Ipe does not hold a finish. All of the Ipe I've installed has come with the caveat that states " use Australian timber oil or nothing". ......

The 2-part epifanes says for teak, etc.Does that also work on ipe?

I don't know what it is about Ipe that finishes don't like. I've not finished teak before, but I live in a boat community and very few boats are adorned with finished teak. I'm guessing that teak and Ipe share some common characteristics. Just a guess though.

After looking at your home I'd favor redwood for the veneer, as that appears to be what your siding is.

From my experience, redwood has a lifespan that is 2x the life of cedar. I built a deck with redwood over 25 years ago and just replaced it with cedar last year, because the price of redwood was 3x the price of cedar. We'll see how long this cedar one lasts. My guess is 10 years or less.